Parliament to grill four ministers on the state of economy

The Revitalized Transitional National Legislative Assembly has set deadline of May 20, for four ministers under the economic cluster, chaired by Vice President Dr. James Wani Igga to appear to answer queries on the deteriorating economy.
Oliver Mori Benjamin, Chairperson of Information and Communication and assembly spokesman speaks to journalists during a press conference held in Juba on Friday (Photo: Awan Achiek)

By Awan Achiek

The Revitalized Transitional National Legislative Assembly has set deadline of May 20, for four ministers under the economic cluster, chaired by Vice President Dr. James Wani Igga to appear to answer queries on the deteriorating economy.

Those summoned include, Eng. Awow Daniel Chuang, minister of finance, Puot Kang Chol, minister of petroleum, Josephine Joseph Lagu, the minister of agriculture and food security and William Anyuon Kuol, the minister of trade and industry.

The summons came after Stephen Bol, a member of parliament representing Mayom County in Unity State tabled motion detailing the worsening food security situation in his constituency, and also the skyrocketing prices of commodities across markets in the country.

Oliver Mori Benjamin, Chairperson of the parliamentary committee for information and communication, told journalists on Friday that after hearing from the four ministers they will then proceed to summon 7 more ministers under the economic cluster.

“We want these key four ministers to come as the first batch to explain to us as parliament, and when these four are cleared, and then we shall go to the other seven ministers,” he said.

Benjamin said the ministers have been given seven days to prepare themselves to address the parliament.

“When we are summoning a minister as to conduct of business, they have to be served with a letter through the minister of parliamentary affairs and at least he or she has to be given seven days to prepare to come and address the parliament,” he disclosed.

Benjamin clarified that the parliament didn’t summon the Chair for the Economic Cluster, Dr. James Wani Igga but ministers under the cluster.

Economic Cluster comprises 11 ministries which include ministry of finance and planning, ministry of petroleum, ministry of mining, ministry of agriculture and food security, ministry of livestock and fisheries, and the ministry of trade and industry, ministry of environment, ministry of water resources and irrigation, ministry of land, housing and urban development, ministry of wildlife, conservation and tourism and ministry of investment.

The South Sudan Pound (SSP) has continued to depreciate against the U.S dollar, currently exchanging at 3000 SSP, the highest since independence in 2011.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *